Total operating revenue fell to $296.1m, a significant decline of 48%. This poor result can be attributed to travel restrictions and business closures as a result of a surge in Covid cases in Macau and mainland China.

This result is comparable to Studio City’s, which reported revenue at “negative $1.9m,” as it also felt the impact of pandemic-related restrictions. The likes of Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM China, Wynn Macau and SJM Holdings have also felt this pain.

Melco generated negative adjusted property EBITDA of $13.8m, compared to adjusted property EBITDA of $79.1m.

Q2 operating loss stood at $209.2m, compared to $128.1m, while net loss attributable to the company amounted to $251.5m, compared to $185.7m.

Melco CEO and Chairman Lawrence Ho said: “It goes without saying that our results for the second quarter of 2022 were heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed across mainland China and Macau.

“Throughout the pandemic, ensuring the health and safety of our colleagues has been very important, and these continued to be our highest priority through the recent outbreak in Macau.

“We very much appreciate the Macau Government’s expeditious handling and publication of the amendments to the gaming law in June, and the publication of the regulations for the new concession tender.”

Last month, the Macau Government set up a committee to examine and evaluate bidders for new casino licences.

Concessionaires are expected to be decided by the end of the year, after Macau extended its current concession period from June 2022 to December 2022. 

The extension was designed to account for a legal period in which changes to Macau’s gaming law are to be ratified for the future.